As hoped, home run has jump-started Andrew Romine’s bat

DETROIT >> The minute Andrew Romine hit his first career home run Friday night, ending an 0-for-28 streak, manager Brad Ausmus hoped aloud that it portended good things for the Tigers shortstop.

He was right.

Romine went 2-for-4 with a couple singles in Saturday’s game, then — after spending 10 minutes or so working with hitting coach Wally Joyner after the contest — added an RBI single in his first at-bat Sunday, giving him four hits in the span of seven at-bats. He added a sixth-inning single, leaving him 2-for-4 again, and 5-for-10 since the home run two days earlier.

It had taken 13 games before that to collect five hits.

“It’s funny, because I know he was working with Wally after the game. So, despite the fact that he had some good at-bats, there was something he felt was not quite right. He just took about 10 minutes to fine-tune something,” Ausmus said Sunday morning.

“He certainly looked a lot more comfortable at the plate, whether it was psychological, physical, I couldn’t tell you. But I was hoping that maybe that home run would be the start of something good, and it looks like it’s headed in that direction, and I hope it continues.”

While it’s a good sign that Romine is bringing his bat around, it’s just as important that he never let his struggles at the plate impact his play in the field.

“Those are two different things to me,” he said. “Being at the plate, once I’m not at the plate, I’m not a hitter anymore, I’m a fielder — or I’m a runner, if I put the ball in play. To me, there’s no comparison to them. They don’t carry over to me. Going out and playing defense is what I’m here for.”

That’s what his manager expected out of a guy who — despite just 70 career big-league starts — has been around the block, playing in 700 minor-league contests.

“Really young players are the ones you see that happen to,” Ausmus said. He’s been around enough, and he plays a premium position, defensively, so I think he’s learned coming up through the minors, and these short stints in the big leagues that taking your offense to shortstop with you is not going to help you stick around.”

Joba, Cabrera leave with injuries

Miguel Cabrera (hamstring cramp) and Joba Chamberlain (right ankle contusion) both left Sunday’s game early, a half-inning apart, and are day-to-day.

In the seventh inning of a 10-run game, Cabrera singled through the left side. On a foul ball by Don Kelly, Cabrera appeared to pull up lame, and hobbled almost all the way to second base.

Trainer Kevin Rand and manager Brad Ausmus immediately came out to check on him, and replaced him with pinch runner Bryan Holaday.

“He said he could stay in. If this was Sept. 19, and this was an important game, and we weren’t down by 10, it would’ve been a different story,” Ausmus said.

“There was no reason to take a risk. Just get him out of there.”

Cabrera is coming off surgery in the offseason to repair a core muscle injury.

Chamberlain got kicked in the foot trying to cover the bag at first base on an infield hit by Rougned Odor. Rand and Ausmus went out to check on him, but left him in, then pulled him after he walked Shin-Soo Choo.

Ausmus said the concern level about Chamberlain was low, but had not yet spoken with Cabrera or Rand.

Cabrera said it was just a cramp, and he already felt better, after the game.